Protective collar with fixing means to the user&#39;s body

ABSTRACT

A collar for protecting the neck of a user, useful in particular for motorcycle riders, is envisaged, said collar comprising two half-collars which are pivotably hinged together at one end so as to be rotatable in a substantially horizontal plane and which can be connected together by means of a fastening and release lever, a plate which at the rear extends downwards from the bottom edge of the collar so as to be centred with respect to the spinal column of the user, and a protective shield which extends downwards at the front. The collar is provided with means for fastening straps for fixing the collar to the user&#39;s body.

This invention relates to a protective collar, useful during sportingactivities, especially when riding motorcycles.

Various protective collars intended for persons who practise sportingactivities are known and are commercially available. The obviousobjective is to protect a part of the human body, such as the neck,which is extremely delicate and prone to fractures and knocks. In theevent of a fall, for example from a motorcycle travelling at speed, ithas been known that the neck often suffers damage, despite the fact thatthe rider is wearing a conventional protective helmet.

An example of a collar for moto-cross is described in the internationalpatent application No. WO 2005/051251 in the name of Leatt.

This collar consists of two sections which are releasably connectedtogether by means of a side hinge. The collar has surfaces which aredirected upwards and limit the inclination of the head in all directionswhen the helmet is worn.

The collar rests on the user's shoulders by means of a paddingpermanently fixed to its bottom edge and has a plate extending at therear downwards from its rear edge, with the function of transferring tothe sides of the spinal column loads acting on the user's back, so thatthey are unable to act on the spine itself.

This type of collar, as well as other collars which are known from theprior art, however, have various problems and drawbacks.

Firstly, often the riders require to use numerous additional buckles andstraps with the collar in order to fix it firmly on the shoulders.

In the solution according to WO 2005/051251 the recessed shape of thecollar is exploited for this purpose so as to insert between two edges,along the sides, two annular, elastic, fixing straps. The (notinsignificant) disadvantage is that the straps must necessarily be wornon top of the riding suit or other external clothing, and this, inaddition to being uncomfortable, is dangerous because of the real riskthat the straps may get caught in projecting parts of the motorcycle.

The object of the invention is to provide a collar which solvessubstantially the abovementioned problems and drawbacks and is easy touse, in addition to protecting the user in an effective manner.

In particular, the object of the present invention is to provide acollar which can be easily fixed by the user to his body.

This object is achieved with a collar for protecting the neck of a user,useful in particular for motorcycle riders, of the type comprising twohalf-collars which are pivotably hinged together at one end so as to berotatable in a substantially horizontal plane and which can be connectedtogether by means of a fastening and release lever, a plate which at therear extends downwards from the bottom edge of the collar so as to becentred with respect to the spinal column of the user, and a protectiveshield which extends downwards at the front, characterized in that itcomprises securing means for temporarily or permanently connecting atleast one strap for fixing the collar to the user's body.

The advantages of the invention will be explained more fully by thefollowing description, intended purely by way of a non-limiting example,of a preferred embodiment of a collar, shown in the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a three-dimensional front view of the collar;

FIG. 2 shows a three-dimensional rear view of the collar according toFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows fixing straps for the collar;

FIG. 4 shows the straps connected to the collar according to FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 shows a top plan view of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 shows a top plan view of FIG. 4 without fixing strap.

FIG. 7 shows a top plan view of FIG. 4 with the fixing strap connectedto the collar in an alternative manner.

With reference first of all to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a collar 10which has a symmetrical structure and consists of a front part 12, whichrests on the chest, closed by a fastening lever 14, two side segments16, 18 which are nearly flat, and a rear part 20.

The segments 16, 18 are hinged together by means of a rear pin 70 andmay be opened wide apart so that the neck can be inserted inside thecollar 10. The fastening lever 14 has the function of fastening togetherthe segments 16, 18 in the closed position such that, during use, thecollar 10 has an annular structure which surrounds the neck completely.

The segments 16, 18 have a cross-section in the form of a roundedrectangle and each of them has, mounted on the edge towards the outsideof the collar 10, a hooked tongue 30 which is formed by a central body34 which terminates in a right-angled extension 32 widened in the formof a mushroom head.

Two pads 60, 62 are mounted underneath each of the segments 16, 18,being arranged on top of each other.

A user U (FIG. 3) who wishes to fix the collar 10 may use two elasticstraps S1, S2 which are arranged so as to cross over each other on thechest. With the collar already positioned around the neck, it is thenmerely required to take hold of each strap and raise it so as to causeit to engage with the nearest tongue 30, passing over the extension orhead 32 (FIG. 5). The tension of the straps S1, S2 ensures that thecollar 10 remains tethered to the user's body such that small movementsof the collar 10 are permitted, but the overall downward force of thestraps S1, S2 always returns the collar 10 to its original position onthe user's body.

The straps S1, S2 cannot come free of the tongue 30 because they areretained by the extension 32, unless a deliberate action is performed bythe user U.

Thanks to the universal shape of the tongue 30 and the extension 32,FIG. 7, embodies an alternative fixing method of the straps S1, S2whereby the straps S1, S2 are routed over the top surface 18 of thecollar 10. The user U engages the straps S1, S2 with the tongue 30 byextending the straps S1, S2 over the top surface 18 and under theextension 32.

It should be noted that co-operation between the tongue 30 and strapsS1, S2 also functions when the straps S1, S2 are used underneathclothing worn by the user U since the upper part of each strap may beextracted through the neck opening in the clothing. The embodiment inFIG. 7 also improves on this by requiring the collar of the clothingworn to be stretched open less.

According to a variant, the straps S1, S2 are joined permanently to thecollar, for example precisely to a tongue such as that indicated by 30.In this case the straps S1, S2 do not necessarily forms a closed loopbut may be open and have adjusting/closing means, such as a belt fortightening or Velcro® parts to be fixed together.

From the above description it is clear that the collar according to thepresent invention has characteristics such as to solve advantageouslythe problems and drawbacks of the devices according to the prior art.

1-8. (canceled)
 9. Collar for protecting a neck of a user, useful for motorcycle riders, of the type comprising: two half-collars which are pivotably hinged together at one end so as to be rotatable in a substantially horizontal plane and which can be connected together by means of a fastening and release lever; a plate which at the rear of the collar extends downwards from a bottom edge of the collar so as to be centered with respect to a spinal column of the user; a protective shield which extends downwards at the front of the collar; and securing means for connecting one or more straps for fixing the collar to a body of the user, wherein said securing means comprises a tongue-like member projecting laterally from the collar.
 10. The collar according to claim 9, wherein said tongue-like member is formed by a central body which terminates in a right-angled extension.
 11. The collar of claim 10, wherein said tongue has a widened mushroom-like head for keeping the at least one strap in position.
 12. The collar of claim 9, wherein said securing means comprises two tongue-like members, wherein each of the two tongue-like members projects from different sides of the collar.
 13. The collar of claim 9, wherein said securing means are engageable by at least one elastic strap for fixing the collar to a body of the user, wherein the at least one elastic strap is arranged so as to be crossed on the chest.
 14. The collar of claim 13, wherein said tongue-like member is formed by a central body which terminates in a right-angled extension and wherein said at least one elastic strap is suitable for cooperating with said securing means, passing either over or under the extension, also when it is used underneath clothing.
 15. The collar of claim 9, wherein at least one of the one or more straps for fixing the collar to a body of the user are of elastic material, wherein the at least one elastic strap is joined permanently to said securing means, wherein the at least one elastic strap is open and has adjusting/closing means.
 16. The collar of claim 10, wherein said securing means comprises two tongue-like members, wherein each of the two tongue-like members projects from different sides of the collar.
 17. The collar of claim 9, wherein said tongue has a widened mushroom-like head for keeping the at least one strap in position.
 18. The collar of claim 9, wherein said securing means comprises two tongue-like members, a first tongue-like member for a first side of the collar and a second tongue-like member for a second side of the collar. 